Border cop lightly hurt by stone slab hurled at him in East Jerusalem clashes

A border cop was lightly injured early Friday by a stone slab thrown at him from a building in East Jerusalem, according to police.

The incident occurred during a special forces operation in the neighborhood of Issawiya.

Police said Molotov cocktails and rocks were thrown at officers and that fireworks were launched directly at them, prompting the cops to fire several shots from their weapons.

There were no reports of injuries among local residents from the gunfire.

Police also said two patrol cars were damaged in the clashes.

A video from the scene showed policemen, including plainclothes officers, walking down a street as shouting is heard in the background. A rock appears to be thrown at one of the undercover cops, who puts his arms over his head for protection before firing several shots in the air from his pistol.

The Haaretz daily quoted Issawiya residents saying that police were seeking to make an arrest, but did not end up doing so.

It was unclear from a police statement whether the stone directly struck the officer.

Two IDF soldiers have been killed in the West Bank since 2018 by large slabs thrown at them from buildings.

Palestinians throw stones during clashes with Israeli police in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya on June 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Police over the last year have carried out frequent operations in Issawiya, though they have become less frequent in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Community leaders have argued that police unreasonably stepped up their activity in Issawiya and employed excessive force against residents, undermining stability and stoking tensions in the neighborhood.

Police officials, however, pushed back against the charges, asserting that the heightened operations in Issawiya directly correlate with what they describe as increased violence emanating from the neighborhood.

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